Resource Kit Riches, Part 3

The Microsoft Windows 2000 Server Resource Kit
is a massive work, jam-packed with valuable information
for the network administrator. In my August column, I
examined the kit’s distributed systems, internetworking,
and server operations guides. My September column covered
the kit’s TCP/IP and Internet Information Services 5.0
guides, plus the Internet Explorer 5 resource kit. Now,
in my third and final look at the Windows 2000 Server
Resource Kit, let’s explore the kit’s support utilities.

The kit’s utilities CD will install only on a Win2K system—it
will error out if you try to install it on Windows NT.
If you install all of the 200-plus utilities found on
the CD, the setup will occupy 66M of disk space. Note
that Microsoft doesn’t offer support for any of these
utilities, so use them at your own risk.

You should also know that the Win2K installation CD includes
various utilities found on the Resource Kit CD,
plus other utilities not found on the latter CD. If you
want the complete set of utilities, you’ll have to install
both packages. The Win2K support tools can be installed
by running setup from the Support\Tools directory on the
Win2K CD. In addition, Resource Kit updates are
available at www.microsoft.com/windows2000/techinfo/reskit/default.asp,where
you’ll also find some 25 Resource Kit utilities
that can be freely downloaded.

As I went through the Resource Kit, I was pleasantly
surprised at the number of third-party applications included.
Some of the most notable are Intergraph’s SmartSketch
LE, a CAD-type drawing program; Seagate’s Crystal Reports,
a robust reporting tool; Internet Security Systems’ Internet
Scanner, a security-analysis program that analyzes network
and system vulnerabilities; and Telco Research’s Tru Access
Lite, a program for dial-up accounting and costing.

Now, let’s take a further look at the Resource Kit
utilities. The tools fall into various areas, and I’ve
listed these categories below with the total number of
utilities in each. As it’s not possible to comment on
the merits and uses of every utility in this short column,
I’ll highlight some tools from each category that I believe
will be of the most benefit to the average Win2K network
administrator.

Debug version of ntdetect.com—This
tool came on the NT installation CD but isn’t present
on the Win2K CD. You can replace your existing NTDETECT.COM
with this debug version and it will report at boot-up
what hardware devices it detects before passing the information
to the kernel.

Deployment Tools (8 Tools Total)

Gpolmig.exe: Group Policy Migration—If
you’re migrating from an NT network employing NT System
Policies, this tool will help you migrate these policies
(NTCONFIG.POL) to Win2K Group Policy.

Desktop Tools (11 Tools Total)

Chklnks.exe: Link CheckWizard—Have
you ever been frustrated by non-working Start menu shortcuts
that exist because deleted apps didn’t take their offspring
with them? This utility checks to see if a shortcut actually
points to an existing application or document; if not,
gives you the option to delete it.

Quiktray.exe: Quick Tray—I
have to say this is my favorite desktop tool. It allows
you to have any application show up as an icon in the
System Tray and then launch that application with a single
click. As I write this, I’m trying to fit the MS Word
icon next to the Quake 3 icon.

Diagnostic Tools (37 Tools Total)

Addiag.exe: Application Deployment
Diagnosis—If you’re using Win2K Group Policy
for software distribution, then you need this tool. AdDiag
is a command-line tool that provides information on the
current status of an assigned or published software package.

Dommon.exe: Domain Monitor—Monitors
domain controllers and their statuses and relationship
to other domains (trusts). You can monitor secure channel
status to the domain controller and to domain controllers
in trusted domains.

File and Disk Tools (32 Tools Total)

Directory Disk Usage—Shows
disk space used per folder. You can use this tool to check
disk space usage in users’ home folders and you don’t
even need NTFS permissions to the folders!

Linkd.exe—With this
neat utility, you can join two directories “at the hip,”
so when you navigate through the “virtual” directory it
appears as though you’re navigating the partner directory.

Internet Explorer Tools (3 Tools Total)

Microsoft Internet Explorer Administration
Kit—If you plan on taking the IEAK 5 exam,
here’s an easy way to get your hands on this kit and its
offerings.

Internet Information Server (IIS) Tools
(15 Tools Total)

Metabase Editor: Metaedit.exe—Gives
you REGEDIT-type access to the IIS Metabase, the database
where IIS stores all of its configuration settings. Just
as with REGEDIT, with Metaedit.exe you can add, modify,
rename, and delete metabase keys, plus backup, restore,
import, and export the database.

Network Management Tools (72 Tools Total)

Grpcpy.exe: Group Copy—Allows
you to copy a group and its members to another group in
the same or a different domain.

Performance Tools (23 Tools Total)

Cpustres.exe: CPU Stress Utility—Is
Microsoft stressing you out? Take it out on your processor.
This tool puts a simulated load on your system’s CPU for
performance monitoring.

Pfmon.exe: Page Fault Monitor—Use
this utility to find out if lack of memory is the bottleneck
in your system.

Scripting Tools (10 Tools Total)

Activeperl.exe: Active Perl—Are
you secretly a Linux groupie who works with Win2K only
because your boss makes you? This tool allows you to run
your Perl scripts on Win2K.

Enjoy! Play! Indulge! The Resource Kit utilities
are a must-have for Win2K network administrators. With
the correct tools and knowledge, you’ll be able to tame
this software’s complexity.

About the Author

James Carrion, MCM R2 Directory, MCITP, MCSE, MCT, CCNA, CISSP has worked as a computer consultant and technical instructor for the past 16 years. He’s the owner of and principal instructor for MountainView Systems, LLC, which specializes in accelerated Microsoft Certification training.

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